Category: Lemon

This weekend I received a huge amount of cooking inspiration at my local Farmer’s Market! Just being surrounded by all of that fresh produce and home made marinades…. it made my mouth water! It also made me realize how long its been since I’ve posted a new blog post! Grad school got crazy there for a while and I’m hoping now that it is over and I am officially graduated, it will afford me more time for my favorite past time! So let me show you the fruits of my inspiration and introduce you to my primary muse this weekend.

It all started with this little marinade stand… where I tasted the most amazing homemade marinade! And my first thought was “I can put this on EVERYTHING!” The hardest decision I made this weekend was not buying every flavor this talented woman sold. I finally narrowed it down to these two delicious flavors, but mark my words…. I will be back for the lavender honey!

Of all the delicious produce at the farmer’s market, this succulent squash spoke to me this most! I tossed it with a few spoons of the basil marinade and olive oil then seasoned it with sea salt, garlic, and multicolored peppercorn. I then baked it until the squash softened and the top layer started to become golden.

While I was preparing the squash, I let these two boneless skinless chicken breast soak in the basil marinade as well. I can tell you, that my kitchen smelled heavenly during the whole endeavor! Someone should find me some basil and sage candles stat!

I topped the chicken with a basil pesto sauce and fresh squeezed lemon then baked it along with the squash.

I prepared the angel hair pasta by boiling it with fresh garlic, olive oil, and oregano. After I strained the pasta, I then tossed it with the House Blend marinade and a mixture of Italian cheeses.

Food wasn’t the only inspiration I received from the farmer’s market!

While my meal was filling the house with delicious savory smells, I was busy getting creative with water. Mixed coconut water with mineral water with electrolytes and then infused it with fresh chucks of watermelon. This was such a refreshing beverage after a long hot day at the market!

I hadn’t actually intended to make this post yet, as Sunday was only my trial run on this dish. I didn’t take progress pictures or anything, but it was so delicious I was specifically asked by a few people to post it so they could try it…. so here goes. 🙂

After preheating the oven to 400 *F, I started out with two boneless, skinless chicken breast. After I cut away any fat, I used a small parring knife to make small cuts into the underside of the breasts and then placed the breast into a glass baking dish. I then poured a little white wine (you can use cooking wine or any bitter dry white wine you prefer) and some lemon juice over the breast until the liquid came about half way up the depth of the chicken. Be sure to move the two pieces around to make sure each side is coated in the liquid mixture. The slits on the bottom side of the chicken is to allow the wine and lemon juice to be obsorbed into the chicken better. Coat the top of the chicken breast with melted unsalted butter. I use a silicone brush for this. Season the chicken to your taste and liking. I use lemon pepper for added lemon taste, garlic salt, sea salt, multicolored peppercorn, and a creole seasoning for spice. If I were not making a sauce for this dish, at this point I would also put a slice of lemon on the fleshist part of each breast. Put the chicken in the oven on the center rack for approximately 30 minutes.

On the stove heat olive oil over medium heat in a sautee pan. I use parmesean and garlic olive oil for added flavor. Sautee quartered artichoke hearts and capers in the oil until they are soft. I like to use marinated artichoke hearts. Capers have recently become a new obcession of mine so they may be featured in quite a few up coming posts. Add in some minced lemon grass, garlic, and a small pinch of ginger, do this to your taste. Sautee the mixure for a few more minutes in the oil, before adding four tablespoons of unsalted butter. Once the butter is melted add a dash of white wine and lemon juice. Season to taste, some suggested seasonings are garlic salt, sea salt, onion powder, lemon pepper, peppercorn, rosemary, mustard powder, and/or herb de providence. Taste sauce regularly and adjust juices and seasonings as needed to reach your desired level of acidity.

Once chicken is throughly cooked, remove from oven and top with white wine butter sauce, artichoke hearts, and capers. For an added garnish, you can sprinkle a pinch of fresh parmesean cheese on top. A sweet or crisp white wine would pair nicely with this dish.